(FORSYTH) – On March 16, 30 newly graduated troopers will report to their assigned posts throughout the state of Georgia. This is the 96th Trooper School for the Georgia State Patrol. The graduation took place on Friday, February 20, 2015, at the Georgia Public Safety Training Center in Forsyth after 31 weeks of intense training. Governor Nathan Deal was the keynote speaker. Additional remarks were given by Colonel Mark W. McDonough, Commissioner of the Department of Public Safety and Capt. Scott Woodell, Director of Training. The Oath of Office was issued by Georgia Supreme Court Justice Harold Melton.

Trooper Cadets spend 18 weeks at the academy, 12 weeks in field training, and return to the academy for one week of preparation for graduation. The Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council (POST) requires that all peace officers receive a minimum of 400 hours of Basic Mandate Training. At the completion of Trooper School, these newly graduated trooper cadets received over 1,500 hours of training, including driving, defensive tactics, vehicle stops, Spanish, criminal law and criminal procedure, firearms, accident investigation, and various other training.

During remarks to his fellow class members, class president, Tpr. Michael M. Bailey, reflected on the brotherhood they had created over the past 31 weeks and its importance to their roles as state troopers.

Four of the graduates received special honors for top performance in various fields of study. The honorees were:

For the first time in the Georgia State Patrol’s history, the trooper who maintained the highest academic average received a $1,000 scholarship towards a Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from Reinhardt University. This scholarship was awarded to Tpr. Nicholas Carter for maintaining a 97.86 academic average.